Fear: An Impractical Jokers Story
by fanwriterkris
Summary: The bus is stolen with all four guys' personal information still inside.
1. Chapter 1

Sal could hear the commotion from inside the backstage area of the small town theater.

He had wandered inside ahead of everyone else to see if he could find some ice. Their freezer had clonked out on the bus.

He thought Q and Murr would be right behind him, leaving Joe on the bus to sleep. Joe had contacted Mono and was miserable, it would take some convincing and possibly some threats to keep him off stage, but Sal did not see how he could perform tonight.

Hearing what sounded like yelling, Sal bolted toward the bus. Upon opening the back door of the theater and stepping outside he saw two of his friends against the bus, surrounded by four hooded figures with guns. Quickly concluding that Murr and Q were being robbed and that he was yet unseen, Sal decided the best thing to do was step back inside where he couldn't be heard and call the police. Before, going in he heard one of the hooded thugs scream at his two friends.

"Give me the keys to the fucking bus and get over here and lay flat on your stomachs until we are gone.".

"Wait, one second, Just wait, there's some..."

"Hold on you can have the bus but please just listen to us for a second."

Murr and Q both were protesting at the same time, but both were thrown roughly to the ground without a chance to explain, the keys were dug from Q's pocket.

"Either one of you open your mouth again and I will shoot you both.".

For a split second Sal could not understand why his friends even dared to protest. The hell with the damn bus he thought, just shut your mouths guys, and let them take the fucking thing.

Suddenly, a light bulb went off in his head and he knew he had to do something fast.

He spoke slowly and loudly.

"I'm by the door of the building and am going to walk towards you. Please, do not shoot. You can have my money and you can have the bus. I haven't called the police. But there is someone else on the bus, please walk me in and let me go get him or let him off yourself."

Infamous for being afraid of almost everything, Sal found the courage to walk towards the scene. He couldn't let these lunatics take that bus with Joe on it.

Two guns immediately were aimed at his head as he was roughly thrown against the bus and his pockets were emptied. He had thrown his phone in the weeds by the door before walking out.

"Please, our friend is sick and is asleep on the bus. Take anything you want, but please let him off. He's in the bottom left bunk."

"Go see if one of these pricks is still in there"

A few minutes later, a dazed Joe was thrown roughly from the bus, hitting the cement hard. Reflexes slow due to just being woken up, his head rebounded off the pavement.

Seconds later the bus was out of sight.

"Everyone okay?"

Brian Quinn was the first up.

"Yea, I'm alright. Sal? Joe?"

"I'm okay. Those bastards! Dammit. You guys sure you're okay?"

"Joe? You okay, buddy? You are having a hell of a time lately."

Brian looked in Joe's direction to find he was still laying prone on the cement.

Only getting a low moan in return, brought all four men rushing to Joe's side.

Being the closest, Sal reached his friend's side first. Seeing him setting up by the time he got there was a relif upon itself.

"You okay, Joey?"

Blood was pouring from a wound on Joe's temple.

Brian was close behind Sal. Joe only looked at his friends in confusion.

Q quickly accessed the wound.

"It doesn't look too deep, but I need you to say something, bud".

Q quickly placed his hand over the wound, blood seeping between his fingers and running down his arm. Looking into Joe's eyes, he was relieved to see the blue orbs wide, confused but alert.

Quinn had gone through fairly exensive training in order to become a New York City Fireman, and this knowledge often came in handy.

He knew how hard Joe's head hit the pavement and that his lack of speech and/or possible lack of understanding could indicate a brain bleed even though the wound didn't look too deep.

"I'm okay. Head just hurts worse than it already did, man. Everyone okay?"

Everyone breathed a deep sigh of relief.

"Yea bud, you are going to have one hell of a headache now and a whopper of a bruise. We are all okay, in one piece."

By this time Murray had taken off his shirt and Quinn moved his hand and put the shirt in it's place, Joe wincing as he applied pressure. After soaking up some of the blood, there was a clearer view of the wound and it was deeper than Q had originally thought.

"I believe I was wrong about how deep the gash was, you are going to need some stitches, Joe. And it wouldn't hurt to check and make sure everything is okay in there."


	2. Chapter 2

"Owwwww...shit. That hurts"

"I know, I'm sorry, just hold still a minute"

Q was pressing tightly against the wound on Joe's head, bright red blood still seeped through Murr's now soaked T-shirt. The blood loss was not yet dangerous but Brian Quinn knew the gaping wound was going to require stitches, as soon as possible. He bit back the worry that was creeping into him as he noted Joe had lost a little color.

Only 15 minutse had passed since the bus had fled from sight, but it seemed much longer.

Once the bus was gone, all four men suddenly realized they had no way to go anywhere. They were stuck. Sal's phone had ungracefully landed in a mudhole and would not turn on.

Taking off his t-shirt, Q removed Murr's shirt from the wound and replaced it with his own white t-shirt, tying it tightly around the back of Joe's head, illiciting a low moan from his friend. He sighed as he watched a fresh dab of blood penetrate the white t-shirt.

Murr came back outside as Q stood up, wiping the blood on his jeans.

"The phones in there are not working, guys, they must have cut the wires."

"Holy shit, guys, these guys must be serious criminals if they will go to that length. What is they come back? What if they decide we might be worth something"

Joe had stood, shakily, by this point and slowly nodded his head, a streak of blood running down his left cheek.

"Sal's right. We should go inside, lock every door and window we can find, and just wait. Four hours and people will start getting here. We'll be okay until then."

Three sets of eyes watched as Joe's body wobbled back and forth on slightly shaking knees.

Q reached Joey first, steadying him with one hand behind his back.

"Joe, you can't fucking stand up. You're losing too much blood and you're already sick. I think two of us need to go get help. We're not very far from the interstate and a gas station. Maybe five miles if I remember right."

Joe only shook his head in protest.

"No, we don't need to separate and sure as hell, none of you need to go walking up the damn road with those maniacs drivng around. They might be setting up there around the corner for all we know and we don't know what they are capable of."

"We have to do something, Joe."

Sal and Murr watched their two friends arguing back and forth.

Murr carefully took in Joe's pale appearance, he clearly was losing blood and was ill.

Brian was right about that, but Joe also had a point. Seperating did not seem like a good idea.

Sal, deep in worried and frightened thought, up until this point, spoke up.

"We're standing out here in the wide open guys, let's get the hell inside this building and lock the doors. We'll find a first aid kit, there's bound to be one, and do what we can do with Joe's head. Then we'll decide from there. I agree with both of you. Joe, you are bleeding, buddy. Bad. And you are sick. You are barely standing there with Q's help. Q, he's right, we don't know where these guys are. I don't know the solution here, but I know the right thing to do isn't stand here outside and talk about it. Let's go inside"

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Sal gently put his hand around Joe's other shoulder and together he and Q helped Joe inside.

Murr followed close behind, watching over his shoulder and to both sides.

Minutes later, everyone was inside and the door was locked.

Carefully setting Joe in the nearest chair, the other three men went through the building checking the locks on all the doors and windows.

Murr came back with a large first aid kit and several clean towels. 


	3. Chapter 3

"It doesn't look too bad, Joey. There is a lot of blood though, so don't move around a lot, just set here and hang tight. It'll be alright, we just have to try and keep the bleeding down as much as we can and make sure you don't go wonkers on us. That'll mean we have more to be worried about than meets the eye.  
Plus, we still have to keep that Mono fever in control and you are feeling warm."

Joe grinned and nodded as Q finished bandaging the deep gash.

Murr had also dug out some pain relievers/fever reducer from the first aid kit and had went looking for water.

He was back minutes later brandishing a bottle of water and four cans of Dr Pepper.

"Found a soda machine."

After swallowing the pills Joe tried to lean back in the hard chair and could not supress a low moan.

Sal looked over from doublechecking the nearest window when he first his friend in pain.

"Hold on buddy."

He had reached Joe's side about the same time as Q, each placing a reassuring hand on their friend's shoulder.

"I know you are wanting to lay down pal, but let us find a couch or something. You stay here and do your best to relax and we'll split up and find somewhere for you to rest."

Splitting in three directions, Murr, Q, and Sal went in search of a more comfortable spot for Joe to wait.

Joe set leaning forward, holding his wrapped brow, knowing the back of his making contact with the hardback chair would only cause the intense pain again.

Shutting his eyes, he had went into a very light doze.

The shatter of glass jolted him into awareness.

Almost calling out to check that the other three guys were okay, the fog in his head cleared enough to decide against it. Instead he set quietly, alert and listening, and he heard the voices.

"Those rich bastards have to be in here. I don't know why we didn't think of this sooner, they probably have cash hidden somewhere else, or jewelry, or something.  
We just have to find them, get what we can, take care of them, and get out of here.".

Blood rushed through Joe's head, terror for himself and his best friends, overtaking all rational thought. He knew he had to slow his thoughts, right through the fear and the fever, and the pain.

Hide.

The first rational thought since he was jolted awake, shot into his mind. Joe could only hope his friends also heard the crash and were hiding themselves.  
Right now, he knew he was unable to help any of them. Finding a spot to hide was the only thing he could do at the time.

Shakily, he stood. Turing in a circle he surveyed the small room around him. It was a small office. Perhaps a ticket office.

The thugs sounded like they may be in the large open area right outside the door, probably scouring rooms. Thinking about this again made his blood run cold for his beloved friends.

Bringing himself back to the moment, his gaze stopped on a small door.

Having trouble with balance, Joe eventually made his way to the door. Opening it, he found a small walk in utility closet. He knew they would look in here, so he started to turn and look further. RIght before turning, he noticed the very large props trunk, half hidden under a blanket.

Sweat pouring and head pounded, the ill and injured man finally managed to turn the heavy cedar trunk on it's side, open end facing the wall. He crawled inside with the blanket and covered himself completely.

Then he prayed.

For himself. For Sal. For Brian. For Murray.

*Lord, please help us*.


	4. Chapter 4

Stopping dead in his tracks, Murr stood in sheer panic at the sound of the shattering glass. Thoughts raced through his head. "Did Q or Sal somehow knock something down on themselves?" "Did Joe try to get up and find them and go through a window or break something and it fell on him?"

He needed to go check or call out and make sure everyone is okay. Murr started to run towards the sound, but stopped himself. What if it wasn't the guys. This sent a new wave of fear through his body, causing his blood to run cold. His heart raced for himself and his friends, especially Joe, who he knew would not be able to move as fast as the other guys.

Instead of running towards the sound he stayed still for a another minute, and listened. He was in a small dressing room, he had not shut the door when he went in. He tried to think about which way Q and Sal had went, but didn't pay enough attention at the time to know where either of them were. He could only hope and pray they both were safe.

Not hearing anything, Murr creeped slowly to the open door. Once he reached the threshhold he could hear the distant voices. Low and angry.

"The bastards are in here somewhere. They have to be. Keep looking"

The fear that was building inside James Murray's head erupted into terror.

He knew from the words he heard that they hadn't found anyone yet, and from that he hoped and prayed that Sal and Q had also heard the loud shatter and have since discovered it's cause. He also knew that Joe should be his central focus right now, one of them had to get to him. He was weak, not only from illness but from the previous gash to his head. They left him alone in that tiny room.

"Lord please help him find somewhere to hide before these bastards find him. Let us find him first. Please help us get out of this."

Praying quietly to himself he snuck out into the large open area and started to quietly make his way to the small room where he last left his best friend.

Seeing no sign of Q or Sal, worry crept in even deeper, what if they didn't hear and come barging out in the open. The thugs had guns and Murr was sure they would not hesitate to use them. But, he decided to go ahead and try to find Joe first, he was the most vulnerable. Defenseless. He could hear the voices in another room across the building. Quickining his pace he silently opened the door of the room his friend was in and walked in, closing the door behind him.

Joe was gone from the chair they left him in.

Panic set in quickly. Ready to barrel through the room, screaming Joe's name, he restrained himself from donig so. Instead he quietly surveyed the room, trying to figure out where his friend had hidden.

Murr's head spun as he caught the door opening out of the corner of his eye.

Brian Quinn quickly entered and again closed the door.

"Where is he, Murr?" Q whispered desparately. "We have to find him. They are getting close to this room. We have to find him and then find Sal and get the hell out of here. If they find us they're going to kill us."

Murr whispered back, voice full of fear and panic.

"I just got in here. Let's find him. There's not too many places he could be in here. Jesus, I hope he hasn't went out into another room."

With that, both men started searching the small room.

Q opened the closet door, looked inside and started to shut it again when he noticed a piece of wood protruding from under a blanket. Going further into the closet, he pulled the blanket back and stretched over to look into the box, finding the pale form of his best friend, hair wet with sweat, blood leaking from the bandage on his head, Joe lay asleep or possibly unconsious.

Putting a hand on one damp shoulder, he whispered to his friend.

"Joey? Wake up bud, we have to find Sal and get the hell out of here."

Shaking Joe slightly, he tried again.

"Joe. Come on, man. You have to wake up. Joey!"

Nothing.

Putting a hand to Joe's sweaty brow, Q could feel immediately feel the heat radiating from his friend.

"Shit. I'm not going anywhere Joey, I'll be right back."

Not getting a response, Q stuck his head out of the closet and whispered to Murr who was looking in the closet caddy corner to the one Joe was in.

"Murr...Murr"

"You found him?"

Q looked back where Joe lay and then stepped out of the closet to talk to Murr.

"Yea, man, he's in here. He doesn't look good. I don't know if he's just heavily asleep or if he's unconcious but he's back in the corner and I can't shake him awake. The only way to really get to him is to climb back in and carry him out. So, I think we need to leave him here and go find Sal first, then get Joe out and climb the hell out that window and go into the woods. That's the only thing I can think of. What do you think?"

Murr looked at his friend, eyes big and worried. But he knew he was right.

"Yea, man. I think you're right. Let's find Sal."

Both men started for the door when it opened slightly.

Murr and Q both ran to the closet they were standing by.

"Guys""

"Oh thank God"

Q stepped out of the closet, grabbing Sal in a bear hug.

"We were just going to find you. Lock the door"

Sal reached behind him to lock the door.

"Where's Joe. We've got to hurry and do something, they are about two doors down, guys."

"We found him. He's in the other closet, he must have went in there to hide. But, I couldn't wake him up. He's burning with fever, so I hope he's just burning it off and asleep. We have to get out of here now though, so our plan was to find you, come back here, carry Joe out and climb out the window."

Sal was scared, but nodded.

"That's about the only option we have. Let's do it. We have to hurry."

Q was already in the closet. He had moved the large wooden trunk as quietly as he could so he could to Joe easier. Maneuvering himself behind his friend, he bent and easily lifted him into his arms. Sal waited to take his burden.

"He's hot. We have to get him the hell out of here."

Murr had gotten the window open and climbed out by this point.

Q followed suit.

Sal attempted to slide Joe's prone form through the window but realized he was too long to fit through.

"I'm going to have to either put him through feet or head first, he won't go through this way guys."

"Shit. Okay. stick his feet through first and we'll catch him."

This worked without too much trouble.

Sal following seconds later.

"I hope they don't notice the window is open. They'll be hot on our trail"

Q only nodded, already noticing this.

He lifted Joe off the ground and the three men took off into the thick growth of woods. 


	5. Chapter 5

"I have to rest guys, I'm sorry"

Murr stopped and looked behind him when he heard Sal's plea. He was tired too and he knew Q, who was behind Sal and who was still carrying a prone Joe, had to be completely exhaused.

"Okay, let's rest. We just have to keep our ears open."

Sal was already setting on a log, breathing heavily and Murr quickly set beside him.

Q gently laid Joe on the ground and then leaned against a tree, exhaustion and worry evident on his handsome face.

After a short moment he knelt down beside his friend, lightly tapping both cheeks, flush from fever.

"Joey! He hasn't made a sound of movement since we left the building.". Q stopped to look down at his watch. "And we've been running through these fucking woods for twenty minutes. Joe! You have to wake up, buddy. Come on"

Sal and Murr had both knelt with Q now, all talking to Joe at once, trying desperately to wake him.

Finally, blue eyes opened slowly.

"Thank God" Sal breathed, as he reached down to lightly pat Joe's shoulder.

Moaning slightly, Joe tried to set up.

"Guys?"

Q pushed him back down to a laying position.

"Just stay there for a second pal, get your bearings. We're in the woods, somewhere around the venue. Those goons came back for us and we had to climb out a window and we just ran blindly. I don't have any idea where the hell we are. But we'll just keep walking, we'll eventually come up on something. So just rest for a second and we'll rest then we'll get started again."

Joe's right hand suddenly shot out, reaching blindly around him, making contact with Q's t-shirt. He wrapped his long fingers tigtly around the soft material and held on in sheer panic.

Q put his hand on top of Joe's, not trying to pry the long fingers loose at this point. He figured the fever was causing confusion, reaching down with his other hand to feel his friend's forehead, he was relieved but more confused to find he felt much cooler than earlier.

So he half heartedly tried to pry Joe's fingers from his shirt and then gave up, as he talked softly and reassuringly, unsure of what was happening. Was it just the confusion from being out for so long and suddenly waking up in the woods. Maybe.

"It's okay, Joey. We'll get out of here, man."

"I can't see."

Q's heart fluttered and dropped as he heard his best friend utter these words.

Murr immediately grabbed Joe's other hand as Sal got up from his knelt position and went to a nearby tree, leaning on it for a minute before punching it and cursing under his breath.

Seeing Murr take Joe's hand and hearing Sal lose it behind him, he finished prying his shirt from Joe's finger.

"It's okay, man, it's going to be okay. It's just temporary from the lick to your head. I'll be right back. Murr is right here with you, buddy."

Sal's hand was bleeding but he still was flexed back ready to punch the tree again, Q grabbed his hand, roughly jerking his friend around to face him.

"Stop this shit, Sal. This isn't helping him or us. He'll be okay. We'll all be okay, we just have to get out of here and find a hospital. We have to get our bearings. We don't know what caused him to go blind, he could have bleeding in his brain or a blood clot. It could cause a stroke or God knows what. He'll be okay, but we have to calm down and think. Come on, man, get it together.".

Sal slowed his breathing and listened to his best friend's voice, allowing it to sooth him and bring him back to his senses.

"I'm sorry. I just can't believe this is happening. I'm here now. I'm sorry, man."

Patting the stocky back, Q turned to check on Joe and Murr.

"It's okay man, I wanted to do the same thing and may have if Joey didn't have his fingers tangled in my shirt"

Both men chuckled, the laughter reaching neither of their eyes.

"Let me see if your dumb ass broke your hand"

Murr could hear the quiet converstaion a few feet from him and his fallen friend, relieved to hear that Sal was back on track. He turned to see if they'd have a broken hand to deal with now as well. Seeing Q shake his head, he assumed the answer was no and turned back to Joey, again talking soothingly to him and letting him know he wasn't going anywhere.

"I've got you Joey." He squeezed the shaking hand. "We're all riht here, pal, and we're going to get out of here and get you fixed up. Just hang tight."

"I don't want to blind, Murr. Please don't let me stay this way, please help me.".

"We're going to, Joe. Try to stay calm. I know that's much easier for me to say than for either of us to do, but we have to try."  



	6. Chapter 6

"We have to keep moving guys."

Sal was looking back towards the venue building, listening, ready to grab everyone and bolt if he heard the slightest sound.

"I know, we have to go. You guys ready?"

Q looked from Sal to Murr and Joe, kneeling down to Joe who was setting against the falling log. He felt his head, relieved it was semi cool to the touch.

"You ready, Joey?"

"Yea, man, let's get out of here."

Joe's right hand felt for the log behind him, ready to push himself to a standing position.

"Whoa, whoa, wait, Joey. Let me carry you, bud."

"I can walk, Q. I'll just hold on to the back of your shirt or the belt loop of your jeans."

Q thought about this idea. He was worried about what was causing Joe's eyesight to go. Would walking make it worse.

"Joey, does your head hurt, man?"

Joe nodded. Eyes wide and afraid.

"Can you tell me how?" He looked around, finding Murr and Sal on either side of him, watching the woods nervously. He knew they had to start moving, those lunatics could be coming up anytime. He had no idea what to do if they found them. His gaze went back to Joe's blue, sightless, eyes.

He could see Joe trying to come up with the words to explain.

His voice was still weak, pained, and scared.

"It's like a pounding, in the middle of my head. Like I can feel the blood."

This didn't help to settle Q's nerves. He was terrified there was a blood clot. His best friend, his brother, could have a stroke...rendering him unable to do anything by himself anymore. Or it could just implode in his head suddenly and he would be a complete vegetable for the rest of his life or pass away on the spot.

He put his hand on Joe's shoulder.

"Okay, this is the game plan, Joey. I'm going to carry you, when I get tired, I'll have you off to Sal. I want you to stay as still as possible until we can get the hell out of here and find a hospital.".

"You guys are going to break your backs, man. Let me walk."

"We can carry your little ass. You must have lost 25 pounds with just the fucking mono, and you lost 40 before you even told anyone you were sick. I bet you don't weigh much more than Murr at this point. We've got this. I'm not going to discuss it anymore because we have to get the hell out of here. I'm going to pick you up and we're going to find our way out of here."

Joe only nodded in defeat, as Q knelt to easily pick his friend up from the hard earth.

Looking to either side, he found Murr and Sal, still on the lookout.

"You guys ready"".

Both nodded and the four men were again on their way.

All silently praying.


	7. Chapter 7

"Oh Shit. Oh Shit. Oh Shit"

Murr's voice was horror stricken and Sal didn't even want to know what was wrong up ahead. He held Joe more tightly in his arms, ready to turn and run as fast as his exhausted body could muster.

"What's wrong Murr?"

Q was directly Sal and Joe and he startled Sal when he yelled.

"We've been here guys. We have been walking in a giant fucking circle."

Sal, now beside Murr, knelt to rest his now unconcious burden on the ground.

"Just going to lay you down for a bit, buddy."

Joe did not stir and this did nothing to settle Sal's nerves. He turned behind to meet the worried brown eyes of Brian Quinn.

"We have to get the hell out of here, Q. He has not moved in twenty minutes, man.".

"I know, Sal. I know."

Q walked passed Sal to kneel at their friend's head. He grasped Joe's chin with dirty fingers and shook gently. He put the other hand on Joe's chest.

He spoke loudly, praying Joe would wake up, if only a little.

"Joey! Joe, come on, bud. Please. We need you to wake up for us, just for a few minutes."

He felt Joe stir under his hand and sighed in relief.

"There you go, bud! Come on, talk to me"

By this time Murr and Sal were also kneeling next to their fallen friend, all praying silently.

Two blue, sightless, eyes opened slowly. Momentary panic overcame Joe as he reached out blindly, grasping Murr's arm and clinging tightly.

Murr winced as the long fingers wound into the fine hair of his forearm, yet he spoke gently and softly, moving to rub Joe's shoulder with his free hand.

"It's okay, buddy. We're all right here with you and we're going to find the way out of this fucking place. I promise."

The grasp he had on Murr's gradually loosened.

"I forgot I couldn't see for a second. I'm sorry, Murr. I felt hair in there, thanks for not slugging me."

He tried to grin, but it didn't reach his eyes.

Murr smiled sadly.

"It's okay, man. I didn't need those hairs anyhow. You know I'm just going to wax them away."

Everyone chuckled at that.

Q absently massaged Joe's shoulder, feeling the fever starting to rebuild, and his mind frantically trying to come up with a solution.

"We have to get the hell out of here, guys. Let's go. I'll get Joe."

With that he reached down and picked his friend up and they were off again.

Sal spoke up from the rear.

"We need to find a creek or something, guys. And follow it."

Q only nodded, his mind and worry on the burden in his arms. Joe was damp with sweat and he could feel the heat radiating from his body."

"Stay awake, Joe. Don't go to sleep bud. Here, I'm going to stand you up and you can walk for a little while"

Carefully he put Joe on his feet, not letting go of his arm. 


End file.
